China to Develop Military Facilities on Hotly Disputed Spratly Islands

Chinese foreign ministry's spokesman, Lu Kang, said that construction on the Spratly Islands as part of the land reclamation project would be completed in the near future and additional facilities would be built to meet "the necessary military defense requirements."

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — After completing a land reclamation project on the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, Beijing will build military and civil facilities there, the country's Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Tuesday.

The Spratly Islands are a group of more than 750 islands and reefs in the South China Sea, where China has been constructing artificial islands on coral reefs over the past few months. The archipelago is the subject of a territorial dispute between Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

In late May, the United States said China's actions in the South China Sea violated international norms and the rules of the Asia-Pacific’s security architecture.

On Tuesday, Lu Kang reiterated China's stance that it is acting in accordance with international law and reaffirmed its commitment to resolve the dispute through negotiation with all parties involved.